Toowoomba Grammar School is celebrating the achievements of Year 8 students Tom Sturgeon and Xavier De Ceuster who won the Royal Pacific Showjumping Challenge, along with their teammates Ellie Michel and Savannah De Ceuster from The Glennie School.

The four equestrians, all from the Darling Downs, were selected to represent Australia for the Under 17 international competition held in New Caledonia on October 21, competing against Vanuatu, New Zealand, Tahiti and New Caledonia.

Each competitor was riding a ‘borrowed’ horse for the event and were only permitted to ride their horses for the first time the same day of the competition, further challenging each rider’s ability.

Riders were required to complete two rounds of 12 obstacles under lights, with their scores contributing to the overall team score.

Tahiti and Australia completed the rounds tied and were forced into a jump off. Savannah rode for Australia and finished with a clear round and the fastest time – securing the championship for Australia!

The final placings were Australia 1st, Tahiti 2nd, New Zealand 3rd, Vanuatu 4th and New Caledonia 5th.